But, after further investigation, it became apparent that something was “up” regarding this whole album. The tracks did not seem clean cut enough to be final cuts for an album, and little things like volume-fluctuation were abound over the course of the album, making the whole thing feel a bit fishy.

That said, Jai Paul took to the internets last night (using his first tweet!) to address the matter: Seems that someone leaked the album from Jai’s stolen laptop. Not sure what this means in the long run, but don’t buy that album, folks.

(BTW I’m still listening to “Jasmine” on repeat.)

To confirm: demos on bandcamp were not uploaded by me, this is not my debut album. Please don’t buy. Statement to follow later. Thanks, Jai

So Arjun spotted this somewhere and almost immediately my Timeline started blowing up about it. I don’t really know who Jai Paul is, but I guess he’s a producer? (Lydia is on my case for not knowing anything about him yet.) And you can buy his album for £7, so I assume he’s British? I don’t know. I’m on Track 6 and I don’t really “get it” yet. It seems like he’s one of those “really well-liked but rarely releases stuff” people. And then there’s this:

.@thearjungrover that’s a gnarly rumour. I heard Jai Paul’s own father leaked it to get him out the house

Shortly after releasing their EP a few weeks ago, Sex Ray Vision is back at it again…with a mashup album! I recognize about four -five of these, and considering only a few of them have a lot of plays, my guess is that most of these are new to the public.

These guys are the hardest workers. All they do is drop free tracks and remixes. Just some word of advice: if they’re playing a show near you…go. Thank me later.

I met Dieter Schaaf two summers ago, working a job at school moving furniture. One thing I’ll always remember about him is that he would beatbox. Like, constantly. So much in fact, that I nicknamed him Deetbox. He was always insisting that I freestyle with him to a near annoying level, and he even made a beat for me, just for kicks (pun probably intended.)

Anyway, point is that he had a huge heart when it came to music. A motor that drove endlessly. He told me he was working on an album called, “I Am a Child,” and that it was going to be “awesome.” Fast forward almost two years later, and Dieter kept to his word. He dropped that self-produced, debut album yesterday. I’m here to share it with ya’ll.

Schaaf is self-described as “pop,” but after listening to his album, you can’t quite say it’s just that. There’s persistant elements of hip-hop, reggae, blues and indie rock. It’s kinda like Sufjan Stevens fucked John Mayer and had a kid. Then, that kid found an MPC–and went off. I think.

Peep a couple tracks I’ve highlighted below, and don’t be shy to download his album either. Keep doing ya thang Deetbox. I see ya brother.

The Basic Physics album is finally here! Lift Off has 16 cuts that will for sure get your party started. Don’t believe me? Just have this on shuffle at your next party and you’ll probably have this kind of result. From Maroon 5 to Avicii, this project has more samples then I have songs on my computer. He gets some help from Yoni & 5 & A Dime on a few tracks. Listen to the intro and dive into the greatness of Basic Physics because this is craaaaazy!

I have consistently posted the singles leading up to this release, and it is really evident that his talents increase with each new project. #BASSMOB is a true testament to this, as this release is on a completely different level than his last release. Not only are BPM’s better matched, the songs are mastered at an elevated level and his choice of songs is also a lot stronger here.

Had to wait until Wednesday to post this because you guys know I need a little bit of that womp to get me through humpday. So womp and hump away, y’all. Get groovy with it.

This album leaked yesterday, and while I normally do not download leaks and instead wait until the final project is officially released, I couldn’t help myself with this one. As soon as it leaked I had an influx of emails, facebook messages, and text messages telling me that I needed to download this “masterpiece.” One friend went as far as calling it Drake’s “magnum opus.” He handled the leak with incredible class, and you have to give it to him for that. Most rappers get on their Twitters to vent frustration, anger, and sometimes straight up violence when they find out their albums have leaked prematurely; Drake handled the situation like a gentleman. He knows how classic this album will become, and he seems to have no concern about the leak.

I need to start this post with a preface: I have never been a Drake fan. I have never gotten excited about a Drake release. I’ve liked a song or two, a single here and there, but I’ve never gotten excited about a release. This album, though, is one that I consider to truly be one of the top 10 hip hop albums ever made. Drake’s flows, clever lyricism, and open, refreshing honesty are all massive assets, and with perfectly chosen production and features, this entire project is an instant classic. This will win a Grammy for Best Album, I am willing to place money on that fact right now. But that does not go far enough–this is not just the best album of the year, it is one of the best hip hop albums of all time. This is Drake’s best project to date, and I am extremely excited to see how this project is received when it finally drops on November 15th. I have uploaded these songs to stream, but we will not be providing any link to the leak. Buy his album; support artistry, support the craft, support the industry, support real music.

I listened to this album from start to finish, and this song set an immediate precedent for excellence and realness. 10 out of 10, hell of a way to start things. Drake is talking about his life in the kind of honest way that we see so rarely in mainstream hip hop. Going over a simple piano riff, Drake really lets his voice shine and carry this song. Beautiful hook throughout, and unbelievably honest lyrics throughout. This song gives us a look into Drake feels about all of his past success leading into Take Care, which he must have known would be an incredibly important album both for his career and for hip hop in general.

All these people really discussing my career again, asking me if I’ll be going platinum in a year again. Don’t I got that shit the world wanna hear again?

Drake starts this song with his singing voice, which is always pretty amazing to hear. Dude’s just got it all: crazy flows, clever, meaningful lyricism, and this unbelievable voice to boot. He doesn’t start rapping until about a minute and 30 seconds into the track, and when he does it’s a really nice change of pace to the song. He talks about relationships a lot throughout this album, especially relationships that have hurt him. While there are artists in mainstream hip hop talk about such relationships, Drake does it in a refreshingly honest and real way as is evident on this track. He ends it with a really beautiful, simply spoken string of well put together lines, kind of like Drake’s 2011 take on Biggie’s classic “Hustler’s Prayer.”

I mean I’d almost be shocked if you guys haven’t heard this one yet, it’s been everywhere recently. This is was the lead single, and as such has great pop appeal. That does not mean that Drake’s lyricism or meaning takes a backseat, though. The hook (They know, they know, they know) itself is derived from him saying that his friends “know” that he will cover their case expenses; Drake talks about real issues throughout this entire album and it’s great to see him also do so on the singles. And the way he ends the song? No words.

They saying I’m back, I’d agree with that/ I just take my time with all this shit, I still believe in that/ I had someone tell me I feel off, oooh I needed that / And they wanna see me pick back up, well where I leave it at?

I heard once that they would rather hear about memories than enemies/ Rather hear what was or what will be than what is/ Rather hear how you got it over how much it cost you/ Rather hear about finding yourself than how you lost you/ Rather you make this an open letter about family, and struggle, and then take it forever/ About hearts that you’ve broken and ties that you’ve severed/ No doubt in my mind, that’ll make them feel better

The other day on MTV, Mac announced that when he reached 25,000 pre-orders for his upcoming album, Blue Slide Park, that he would release the title track. Having just reached 25k a few minutes ago, Mac stay true to his word, and here we have it, “Blue Slide Park.”

I was really excited to hear this one–in a lot of ways I think it indicates the direction Mac’s album will go. Which, if that assumption is correct, is really exciting; while Wiz’s “Rolling Papers” seemed to constantly cave into pop rap tendencies, this track shows what I hope to be Mac’s commitment to making music he wants to make.

Produced by ID Labs, this has a jazz-funk sound to it that I really like. Not my favorite Mac song, but regardless this track makes me excited for the album. I was worried about his desire to appeal to a larger audience, which clearly killed Wiz’s release.

This has a vintage Mac sound to it and I’m excited to hear more of that.

Go and pre-order the album now if you plan on buying it! At 50k, he’s donating $50,000 to charity, and at 100k, he’s dropping the album immediately. Not that I believe that could ever happen…but it would be dope.

Justin Vernon is one of my favorite singers ever, and Bon Iver is one of my favorite groups ever, and For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my favorite albums ever…so you know I have massive expectations for the release of Bon Iver’s next project, simply titled Bon Iver.

This one felt a little strange at first with the high, organ sound–it took me about 10 seconds to fall in love with the song though.

For Emma, Forever Ago got me through a lot of really difficult times, and I owe a lot to Bon Iver for having created that album. I can only hope that this album will do similar things for me.

After this single, my expectations are high, and I am confident that Mr. Vernon and the Bon Iver crew will pull through.

Yall already know what a huge fan of Jonsi I am. Well, NPR is here to save the day. They’ve allowed the streaming of the Jonsi album, called “Go” for yours and my listening purposes! Click here to listen to the album.

Not great sound quality in this video, but I thought it was worth seeing how they make the music. This is a really chill song. Great to listen to if you need to relax or if you are trying to work. I call this type of song “bell curve music” (nerdy, I know)…it starts out simple, starts working up to a climax, and then slows down again at the end. Coldplay does this extremely well. Anyway…good song, very talented musicians. Enjoy.